12 Balmain locals were asked to choose a photograph from our collection and invited to tell us what the image said to them. This time, David Wilsher and a pretty charming postcard c 1910 of Birchgrove/Balmain West and Drummoyne at night.

This image fascinates me in several ways.

It’s obviously a postcard and the original source material looks to have been a black and white photo which was then skilfully hand coloured and reproduced as a colour postcard.

Was it done before colour photography was possible?

But colour reproduction was possible.

The result is a cross between photography and painting and is a precursor of how many contemporary images are created using Photoshop and special effects in cinema and television.

I am an artist and have produced images of Balmain, so for me the connection is even stronger.

David Wilsher